Profession
by StrugglingHero
Summary: UPDATED 7 3! Takes place after Chosen. Buffy goes MIA instead of making nice with the Scoobies in the ep. Empty Places and makes a new profession for herself.
1. Default Chapter

**PROFESSION**

**By: StrugglingHero**

DISCLAIMER: The Buffy franchise isn't mine. That goes for AtS too. The wicked-awesome (and sometimes frustrating) Joss Whedon owns them all and also the other lucky companies.

DISTRIBUTION: Only at Want it? Please ask first.

SPOILERS: Major on "Empty Places" and post said episode. Otherwise, a reference here and there.

RATING: PG-13. I'll warn you guys if it changes but I doubt it will.

**FEEDBACK**: Need I ask? Yes plz.

**SUMMARY**: Takes place after "Chosen". Buffy goes MIA instead of making nice with the Scoobies in the ep. "Empty Places" and becomes a pro mercenary for hire. Buffy-centric but the Scoobs get their fair amount of spotlight as well. This fanfic will also features Gwen from AtS.

**PAIRING**: Nor really the point of this story but there might be some.

AN: It's fair to say that this was inspired by Star Dragon Fire's "Emptiness Within". I doubt she (or maybe he) would go through the story so I made this. This idea has been lurking around my mind so it needs to come to the light now.

AN: _ITALIC _paragraphs are Buffy's narration.

**CHAPTER 1: PROFESSION**

_The Slayer - she alone will stand against the forces of darkness yada yada yada. This phrase turned to pure crap a month ago. Thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of Slayers exist today. That's hardly alone. To the best of my knowledge, I'm the one that ran the sentence face down into the stupid mud. Slayers are suppose to work alone but I chose to bond with others, make friends. Willow's spell was just the final nail in the coffin._

_These friends help me fight the good fight against the bad guys. I'm the oldest living Slayer thanks to them. The things is, I don't care. I'm suppose to be resting in paradise but they had to bring me back to life. Bring me to this hell because they love me so much. Hahahahaha........love. What a funny word. Is it an act of love to kick someone out of your own house because I tried to take a step forward to stop an evil from slaughtering all of us?_

_Their little act of kindness shattered my foundation. My foundation built with friendship, trust, and.....love shattered because I tried to save the world. That foundation crumbled along with my identity._

_Thankfully, I made a new identity for myself. An identity that I like._

_There are many members in the Slayer Club now. I don't know my purpose anymore. I don't need to. My new (well not exactly new, been doing it for over a month now) job has no need for beliefs or morals. I just do what I'm told to do in exchange for luxury. End of subject._

---Rome----

Buffy walked through the illuminated hallway. Her high heels came to a halt as she reached the end. Before her stands a wood-paneled door on which she knocked firmly three times. A muffled 'enter' sounded from the other side. Gripping the bronze doorknob, she twisted it and entered the mundane portal. A normal office bathing in white fluorescent greeted her sight. Everything's normal except for the figure that is sitting in the padded chair, a human. At least on the outside part.

The blonde slayers' supernatural senses are going haywire just by being near his (more likely its) presence. It wasn't your everyday vampire; that much she can tell.

In the past, Buffy would never have subjected herself to follow orders from a thing but things change. She changed. Her beliefs aren't all honorable and righteous ever since she was 'evicted' from her house.

Her seven-year record and judgment was called into question because of one thing that went awry. It was as if the stuff they braved through were all a pack of lies. She didn't understand where they were coming from.

"You her?" a gentle voice filled the hollow room.

"Yeah. Joan Moonstrom at your service," she answered in the same gentle tone but firm also.

The reason behind her name change is obvious. She didn't want to tempt fate and let the Scoobs find out about her. In just a few weeks time, Joan's reputation of her workmanship quickly spilled through the supernatural world. Occasionally, she meets demons who knew her for her other rep, being a Slayer. In those cases, she just flat out ended their misery.

Everyone wanted to hire her services from stealing ancient mystical artifacts to the familiar lanes of killing a particular demon. She gave the clients she worked for a full four-star package including discretion if they requested so.

Joan was paid quite handsomely for her top-of-the-line services. She had more than enough money to buy a decent villa in a secluded with a nice view of the Mediterranean Ocean for herself. Of course she bought it under the name 'Joan'. She had to hire a pro forger at the beginning to put more substance into her new identity. It saved her the hassle for 'cheating' her way through every time she had to buy something that required personal information.

Buffy Summers is out of the building and Joan Moonstrom is in the house.

"You know, rumor has it the you're a Slayer. That would explain how you possess such skills required for your...profession," the man randomly said.

"WAS a Slayer is the right tense there. Just to warn you, I killed every demon that didn't like that fact," Joan warned.

"Trust me Miss Moonstrom, I have no qualms with whom you are at all," the figure rose to his feet. He slowly approached the blonde, indicating to her that his intentions are at the very least, non-hostile.

"That's nice, you have a job for me? As long as it doesn't involve killing humans, I'm cool with anything,"

"How intriguing. You know, being a professional mercenary calls for zero morals."

"It's my only moral. If you don't like it, hire someone else."

The man let out a cold chuckle, "Now, now, no need to get all testy. Besides I prefer skills over morals. You clearly have a fountain of the former. You'll need it."

"We are going to talk about the job in some point in time right?"

Joan watched the man's chest expand and let out a heavy sigh. "Youth today, always to the point. Anyway, you're job is to get me a recently discovered ancient scroll. I want it to add to my collections."

"What's it called?"

"Sweet Whispers from Death or at least that's what the English name for it."

"And the where?"

The man smirked at her for ignoring her curiosity. "Doesn't ask questions that she doesn't need... You really are a professional. Aren't you just a little intrigued by the name?"

"Fine. Does it have to do with an apocalypse?"

"No, nothing of that proportions. It's about the power. It's only fair to warn you that you will have some competetion in your hands. You were actually my second choice but Miss Raiden is already taken. Everyone who knows the scroll's potential is after it. Be the winner and bring the scroll to me and you'll get your just rewards."

For a brief moment, Joan wondered who Miss Raiden is. This guy decided to choose the girl over her which could only mean that she's more talented in this are of expertise. It also means that she's the competition to watch out for because she was already hired by someone else. Snapping out of her existential thoughts she replied, "Then I don't care with what you do with that power at all. How much?"

"Name your price and I'll thrown in a 'fancy' sword too."

"What's the where?"

"I only know the major location. It could be in London. Rumors are putting this scroll in many different places but they're all under England."

"England," her lips moved softly. She spoke the word as if it were sacred. To her, it's completely something else. She knew the place is where the new Watcher's council is being re-erected from the rubbles. It's where Giles resides.

She had been keeping a tab on her companions to better avoid them. There's nothing that she would hate more than suddenly bumping to anyone of them. If one of them found her, it would only take days before the others do too. She knew that they searched for her relentlessly for a full month after their battle with the First. But she didn't want to be found and they didn't. They will never as long as she can help it.

It seems Fate has decided to play with her threads of destiny today. She hoped that the exact location of the scroll isn't in London.

_What is the difference between fate and destiny? Is destiny just a fancier word for it? I wish that I could believe that our destinies lies in the palm of our hands. That we could set the course of it with our actions. However, I know better than this with me being a Slayer and all. We're not the captain of U.S.S MY DESTINY. We're just mere passengers. You can jump ship into the ocean but you'll just drown and die. We can only sit back and wait for the cruise to come to an end. Hopefully my ship won't cruise by people's ship that I don't want to see. Hopefully._

TO BE CONTINUED (real soon).......

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What do you readers think so far? Hopefully you like this little intro. The good stuff comes in future chap.

Please REVIEW!!! I just want to know if you like this story or not. Don't care how short it is.


	2. Competition

**See chapter 1 for disclaimers.**

AN: First off, I'm glad you guys like this chapter.

A sincere thank you goes to:LizaGirl, BAShippy, Sorrow1, Gem, Jenn, WW, Alchemist07, RavensHaelo,wg, and Miracle Angel Summers.

AN2: This time _ITALICS _are Gwen's narration.

**CHAPTER 2: COMPETITION**

_London, England. Home of the scroll that I'm to steal for my client. This is the place according to the rumors. Ugh, this is the last time I'll take on a client that doesn't know where the goodies to steal are. I already do the hard work, swiping stuff gracefully and all that. I'm suppose to do the frustrating work too? _

_I've been checking the locals for the information on the whereabouts and it led me here. The bar. According to them, someone knows where the Sweet Whispers from Death here. What the hell is this scroll anyway? I could've asked my client but asking for unnecessary infos is not healthy for business._

_I doubt that this piece of worn-out paper is worth much in the supernatural market. But then again, no one ever paid me 25 million dollars for a paper._

As soon as she went inside the bar, the atmosphere completely changed. Once quiet now the air is buzzed with chatter and vibrated with contemporary music. Gwen wasted no time and went to the bar tender. She ordered a simple wine. Waiting for her drink, she took the time to analyze her surrounding. Her eyes combed through the crowd, trying to see if she can spot the person that knows the exact location of the scroll.

To her, all the people look the same. She was going to have to ask people one by one until she finds him or her. It annoyed her to no end.

Knowing that she wasn't the only one after the scroll, she knew that she needed the location fast. She wasn't the only professional thief in the world, and she had no doubt that the others will soon know the location of the scroll. Whoever would steal the scroll, which leads to Gwen failing and having an unsatisfied client on her hands. She can't have that.

She snapped out of her musings as the bartender brought her drink. After whispering a thank you, she watched him go to serve a drink to another lady. She was about to shift her attention to something else but stopped when she heard the words, "Here's your drink Miss Moonstrom."

The name caught her ears. She knew about Joan Moonstrom's reputation. Most of her clients mentioned her as they talked shop. According to them, she was quite the professional. They wanted her services but Joan turned them down so they turned to her.

Being secondary choice to Joan certainly wounded her pride but she moved on. She kept doing an admirable job for her clients. A little competition to her could only prove healthy at best.

But now that little 'competition' is here. They were seeing eye-to-eye. Or at least eye-to-a-not-seeing-Gwen-eye. It complicates things a bit.

Gwen knew that Joan is resident to Rome. Everyone knew at least that much about her. Since Joan is here in London, she could only conclude that she's also after the scroll. Why else would she be here?

As she watched Joan fondle with her drink, an idea slowly molded into a plan in her mind. This plan would take care of everything for her. Finding the scroll, beating Joan to it, it would all be taken care of by her masterful plan. Well 'masterful' isn't exactly the word to describe it because in fact, her plan is quite simple. It's not even new. It had been done thousands of times by others but this fact doesn't null the effectiveness of it one bit.

She would let Joan do all the work for her. Joan would find the location of the scroll and then go on about stealing it. Of course, she wouldn't know that it would all be for Gwen. She would follow Joan to the scrolls location and watch her steal it. Once she gets her hands on the scrolls and exits, she would be jolted out of her consciousness -literally. It would only take one touch from her to ground a human being unconscious. The only thing left to do is to grabbed the scroll, give it to her client, and get paid.

It's the perfect plan. Joan would most likely have no clue what, or precisely who, hit her so even if she decided to make time for payback, she would have no idea who to dish it too. Even if by some chance she knew, she would already be in a separate country from her by the time she searches for her.

Knowing her plans will definitely work, Gwen let all her worries and fears wash away. She melted in her stool and simply observed Joan drink.

_This job isn't such a downer after all. I barely have to lift a finger to get that scroll._

_It's weird. I can't help but feel that this seems way too easy. Maybe I'm misjudging Joan's capabilities. Hmmph, it doesn't matter if I am. It wouldn't shock me. I doubt that she has electric touch or anything special. The only time that something didn't go according to my plan is when I was stealing the Axis of Pythia. Angel and his buddies were trying to steal the thing too. In the end I still got the Axis but Angel went after me to take it. I learned about vampires that day._

_Veering off memory lane here, I doubt that Joan is anything 'freaky'. She doesn't look like one. She has reflections and she definitely isn't trying to avoid skin contact which proves she's not like me. She's nothing special. The scroll is as good as mine._

TO BE CONTINUED....

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Short chapter, I know. I really just wanted to introduce Gwen Raiden here. If you guys are already wondering about the Scoobs, they'll be included in the story in chapter 4.

Please let me know what you think via reviews. I'll try to update as soon as I can.


	3. Steal the Stolen

Author's note: Sorry for the late update. I've been busy with real life and I wasn't feeling artistic lately. Anyways hope this chapter is worth for those who have been waiting. A sincere thank you goes to the reviewers. You guys rule!

**CHAPTER 3: STEAL THE STOLEN**

Joan stood before an old mansion. The faded gray textured walls gives off the illusion that the house had been in hibernation in the past year and now. It's vertical reach vibrated ominous waves. Only it's luminescent interior made it seem more awake. More active. According to the local, this is where the damned scroll is located. For a place that's housing a mystical scroll, it didn't appear to have any high-tech security measures. Not even dogs were present to provide a diminutive amount of safety. No guards, no camera or whatsoever. It was as if the owner of the mansion doesn't know the purpose of security. There was nothing in sight that could prevent Joan from waltzing in and swiping the scroll, if this is the place of its genuine location.

The former golden Slayer breathed out a sigh and sized up the steel gate that barred her from entering. Or at least SHOULD try to bar her from entering the property. Taking a couple of steps back, the blonde mercenary dashed quickly and using her leg strength, her feet pushed from the pavement, shooting herself upwards with forward momentum into the air. Her form towered over the gate a few good feet. Gravity called the airborne blonde downwards and downwards she fell. The fallen dry leaves crunched beneath her foot as she landed gracefully with both feet firmly planted on the ground.

So far, no obstacle presented itself. No dogs barking, no alarms blaring, no guards busting out and trying to take her down.

Walking forward, she made her way towards the mansion. With every step, the leaves made a crunching sound under her foot. Not exactly the stealthy approach but she doubted that anyone is inside the house would hear it. Unless they're demons or a fellow Slayer. She quickly dismissed the thought. Her "spidey sense" had not even made a tingle, nothing demonic or slayer-y nearby. As she neared the house, she noticed the front door was slightly ajar open. Upon closer inspection, the door's side was damaged. It was jarred open. Someone else is here to steal the scroll. She cannot allow that to happen. Quietly pushing the door open, her head peeked in to scout the interior for safety.

As she was about to enter, a prickling feeling wormed up in her spine. The feeling differed from the ones she felt when vamps or demons were nearby. No, it was the feeling of being followed. She had been feeling these "prickling" as she made her way here. Every time she turned around, no one except your average pedestrian were present in view. Eventually, the sensation faded. Whoever it was, she thought, she or he is good at hiding. Maybe she was just mistaking the stalker vibe with the mundane chilly weather. Turning briefly, she wasn't surprise to find no one in sight. Letting out a sigh, she went inside the mansion.

Inside, the sight of a man slumped on the floor confirmed her suspicions. Someone had been trying to steal the scroll. She knew the petty thief was dead for she heard no breathing noise. No rising and falling motions of the chest--definitely dead. She doubted that the man just had a bad stroke of luck, had a massive heart attack and then died. The poor thief had been killed by something. Security. Judging by his scratched neck, a demon.

The scroll conspicuously was conspicuously laid on an altar, just a few feet from the thief's inanimate form. Intricate patterns and gibberish letterings (to Joan anyway) contained in a circle lay painted on the wooden floor.

Not feeling any danger other than the "prickling", she walked forward to the altar that held the acclaimed scroll. Immediately upon her foot's contact, the gibberish circle glowed black. A split-second later, a brief but powerful gust swirled from the center of the circle. Her senses were now overloading. The house didn't have any mundane security because it had a mystical one. A range more effective than any high-tech security could provide. After the gust died down, a ghost floated above the circle. It's transparent empty black eyes fixed on Joan. Though the rest of its features were undistinguishable, she could feel its desire. A strong desire to kill her. The ethereal entity raised its a formless appendage to its sides and it formed a transparent limb with claws. With an alien cry, it flew with blazing speed towards Joan. Joan reacted by charging towards the enraged ghost and quickly launched a high kick, intending to collide with the demon with a devastating kick. There was no collision. Her foot went through the entity as if it had struck air. The entity swiped with its claw. It tore part of her denim jacket and scratched her flesh, drawing blood. She anticipated the creature to do the same motion with it's other limb, so she tried to parry its wrist to stop the attack with her arm. No luck. The offending mitt went through it as if Joan's arm wasn't there and scratched her chest.

Realizing that slaying the savage ghost is out of the question, she ran. She wasn't going to escape; she had utmost intention of getting the scroll. Feeling the creature zooming behind her, she turned around and faced the ghost once more. When distance permitted it, the ethereal creature slashed with its claws. This time, Joan dodged, obviously the safer way of avoiding injuries. The creature slashed at her relentlessly but she dodged in the same manner. Though she wasn't sustaining further injuries, she also wasn't getting any closer to her goal. She can't dodge forever. Eventually, she'll make a mistake that could turn out fatal for her. Once again, she ran from the creature but this time she headed for the scroll. It was pointless to deal with the creature but that doesn't mean grabbing the scroll had become a moot point.

The altar zoomed in her view as she bridged the distance between it and her. She immediately swiped the scroll as it closed within reach and tucked it in her jacket then rolled to the left, avoiding a painful claw from the enraged entity. Wasting not a second, she ran for the exit; the furious ghost tailing her. Joan could feel the ghoul gaining inches on her but kept on speeding. As she neared the exit, the ghost had now completely gained on her and resumed the slashing. Sensing the scratch coming, she dived towards the exit in order to get out of harms way.

The blonde mercenary is now outside the mansion, lying on the pavement. Lifting her head, she saw the furious ghoul floating on the doorway, with it's empty eyes. It was unable to go outside. She figured that the spell circle she activated, creating the ghost, binds the ghost to the interior of the mansion. It would have been ineffective as a guard if the ethereal demon could roam outside of its freewill. Someone would just wait for the right moment, when the ghost is trolling the outside world, then sneak in and steal the goods.

Joan stood up, brushing off dry leaves that stuck to her. She looked at the ghost once more and said, "Better luck next time, Casper."

Turning on her back, she walked off the property with a proud grin on her face. Mission accomplished.

As she walked, her mind was figuring out how much should she asked for. She reasoned for a fairly thick amount. Stealing the scroll had not been an easy task for her with the ghost guarding it. A ghost that she was unable to harm but can hurt her. Any other person, like the dead guy on the floor, would have been killed. It was certainly a good deal more difficult than her past jobs where she only had to deal with either the mundane or your average pushover demons. Such great protection for a parchment.

She took out the accursed scroll and glanced over it. It had letterings that she was unable to identify. It wasn't Sumerian. From her days in Sunnydale, she had looked at enough Sumerian texts, even though she could not read it, to recognize one. Giles even tried to teach her the language, which was a futile effort. Texts and books simply fail to captivate her interest. Letting out a sigh, she rolled the scroll and placed it back in her jacket.

The gate that failed to bar her from entering once again stood in her way. Suddenly, a "prickling" tingled up her spine, stopping her from jumping over the gate. This time it didn't fade away; it strengthened. She spun around trying to trace the source. This time, she found where it was coming from. It was coming from a gorgeous woman, who is sitting on the wall to her right side. The brunette woman jumped down and faced her. Without a word, the woman's hands, wrapped in leather gloves, curled into a ball and slugged her. Joan caught off guard took the punch but it barely fazed her.

"You know, it's customary to say hi instead of a right hook when you meet someone," Joan quipped.

The woman simply nodded in return.

Joan began circling the mysterious woman, eyeing her with curiosity. She had never met the woman before and yet here she was slugging her. What was she after?

The look of confusion on the brunette's face about how she wasn't at least bruised by her punch made her smile. She obviously didn't know that she was a Slayer.

To Joan's bafflement, the woman took off her leather gloves from both hands, flexing her hands. "Look lady, I don't think that taking off your gloves will make your punches do more damage than before. You might just end up hurting your hand."

The brunette flashed her a pretty grin. "We'll see." She let off another right hook that Joan anticipated, blocking the punch. Upon contact of each other's skin, Joan felt a shock jolt through her skin making her pull her hand back in reflex. This motion left her open to a punch from her assailant's left and like before, she was shocked literally when their skin made contact. Needing a moment to regroup, Joan launched a wide swing with her legs causing the brunette to step back in order to dodge.

"What are you?" Joan asked, bewildered with the "shocking sensation" she felt.

"A freak," the woman briefly answered and proceeded with her assault. Learning from the past seconds, Joan avoided skin contact by dodging instead of blocking. Seizing the opportunity after dodging a backhand from the woman, she spun around, gathering force, and let off a devastating kick that connected to her attacker's chest, sending her speeding against the wall. There was no shock this time for there was no skin contact. Only boots against polyester. Though her assailant had some neat tricks under her sleeve, she was still not match for her.

"Look, your little shock trick is fancy and all but you can't beat me. You know that inside. What do you want from me?" she squatted down near the brunette.

"Tell me something first. How come you aren't unconscious from the last round? A voltage high enough to knock a normal person unconscious just ran through you a few seconds ago and you're still standing, winning against me."

Joan simply smiled at her. "That's because I'm not a normal person," she waited a moment to see if she could figure it out but only received a raised eyebrow from the brunette. "I'm a Slayer...but I don't do the 'fight the good fight' thing anymore. The other Slayers are here for that."

The brunette laughed. "I should have known that from watching you dodge that angry ghost."

"You're the one who's been following me?"

"Yeah. I'm also after the scroll. Finding the location was a bitch but then I saw you, Joan Moonstrom. I knew right then that you're after the scroll too so I followed you. I was going to steal the scroll from you after you stole it. Obviously, it didn't work."

"I'm pretty popular aren't I?" she grinned.

"Only in the 'hiring' business," she answered, returning the grin.

"So who are you?"

"Gwen Raiden," she breathed out. She stood up on her feet after Joan did.

"You know, my client wanted to hire you instead of me but you were already taken. Anyway, tell your client that his going to have to look for the scroll in Rome if he wants it badly."

Normally, she would never have disclosed such information on a competition but for some reason, she felt obligated to. She wouldn't get into trouble with her client; she only told a vague info. Once she received a nod from Gwen, she jumped over the gate and started heading back until Gwen called after her.

"We should meet sometime, hang out."

Joan turned around and replied, "Pay me a visit in Rome when you're not on a job and we'll hang out."

Through steel bars of the gate, she saw Gwen smile at her. She turned on her back, and continued heading back; she had a scroll to give to her client.

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First time I've written a chap that was 2000 words long. I apologize if there's grammar mistakes;I don't have a BETA. If you're interested please email me. My add is in my profile or just say so in the review.

Like it? Hated it? Don't make sense? Please tell so by reviewing :D.

Next chapter, we get to meet the Scoobs (well Faith mostly).

Oh, I have a website up by the way. Not everything is archived in yet but you guys should check it out! It's really plain though and not eveything is up(Ony one really). I'm too lazy inserting break codes on my stories.


	4. SFC

Author's note: Starting to sound like a broken record here- Sorry for the lateness. I was busy...writing except it wasn't fanfiction. It was essays for school; we read this novel (pretty awesome but everything just happens to come together conveniently for the main cha.) and have to write our thoughts....ahhh don't want to bore you with school. Anyway, here's chapter 4. Enjoy.

_"There's only me." Buffy Summers, Selfless_

**CHAPTER 4: SET FOR COLLISION**

_FROM: redwiccayahoo .com_

_TO: watcherrgmsn .com_

_SUBJECT: Evil afoot?_

_Hey Giles,_

_It's official. The SWoD was stolen from London. I finally found something on the scroll and it's all bad. We should have sent Faith earlier to retrieve it. Giles, this is really worrying me. If the it/he/she knows how to use it (most likely), we'll have our toughest fight yet--tougher than the First's army._

_There's still the Buffy matter. It's like she vanished from the face of the earth. She's really good at that..._

_Should we still send Faith to London?_

_FROM: watcherrgmsn .com_

_TO: redwiccayahoo .com_

_Dear Willow,_

_I too have found something on the scroll and it is a cause for worry. However, there's no need to let the Slayers have knowledge...yet. _

_We are not sending Faith to London but Rome. Rumors placed the scroll was taken to this country. From there, Faith will try and trace the scroll. Hopefully she will, and then we can tread easily._

_About Buffy...we'll figure out what to do._

_Sincerely,_

_Rupert Giles_

_

* * *

_

"C'mon! You could at least fight back," Joan, noticeably experiencing high of the hunt, intimidated. She inserted a sword on a sheath tied on her back then walked towards her fallen prey: vampire. Its body has a variety of stab wounds scattered about, blotching the undead outfit with thick dry red stains that they hunger for. Its lips moved but only incoherent babbling sounded out with a blood bubbles.

The stab wounds were caused by Joan's new sword, her payment (accompanied with a huge sum of money) for swiping the scroll. Like her mysterious client had said, the weapon is "fancy". Not only is its blade masterfully shaped, there seems to be some hidden power residing inside the forged masterpiece. She couldn't figure what this power is, which is why she's facing off the common undead: to test the sword. With any luck, she might accidentally tap into this power and remember how exactly it goes.

"Bitch!!!" snarled the vampire while grasping for something on the inside pocket of his bloodstained jacket. With a roar, the grasping hand swung in an agile arc along with a knife that blurred with the motion. Caught off guard, Joan suffered the damage. Joan let out a brief cry of pain as the knife slashed across her midriff, drawing a lengthy hair-thin line. A slow waterfall of red substance started spilling from the wound, ruining her white blouse. Carelessness had taken its toll. Assuming the vampire possessed no weapon-just because it hadn't use any earlier- was unwise.

Another slash came from the vampire. This time, Joan grasped the offending wrist and clenched hard causing the vampire to cry out in turn. Her hand tightened to bone-crushing pressure. Pain made it too much of a burden for the fiend's hand to hold the knife. The gleaming blade fell with a thud on the grassy ground. Joan raised the vampire up and executed a spin-kick to the stomach causing the vamp to stagger back. With a few feet distance between them, Joan withdraws the sword from its sheath. Pointing at the fiend, she scowled: "Let's see how you like it."

Unsure about what to do, the vampire lurched forward to her. He delivered a wide swing with his undamaged hand but struck empty space. Joan had effectively dodged with a duck, leaving her in a favorable position to use her sword. Opportunity was taken advantage of as she slashed horizontally catching his stomach. Painful growls sounded out from the vampire but Joan wasn't paying attention. Slashing the vampire aroused the sword; it blazed aglow with red-yellow energy, glowing brightly. She could feel the shining energy envelope her, bringing along the caressing arms of warmth and pleasure that caused her to close her eyes. Few seconds passed before the magickal moment quickly ended. Opening her eyes, she saw a dumbstruck vampire and a dormant sword that lie on her palm. Another thing she noticed was the pain in her abs was gone. Her eyes immediately set upon her belly; there was neither cut nor blood. Her hands smoothed over it to and fro, checking to see if it is real or if she had already lost a vast amount of blood that she's suffering from hallucination. It was real. The blade healed her wound!

Shaking out of dumbstruck state, the vampire headed for the hills, knowing fully that Joan's sword washed away his advantage along with her wounds. Joan isn't going to let this one slide. He had almost killed her and that's something she just won't slip away. She prepared to chase after the vampire but stopped. A thought circled on her mind out of the blue--but it wasn't hers. How could that be possible? Is she having an aspect of the demon again? Was the antidote that Angel fed her temporary? No--Giles would have told her if it wasn't. This is different. Joan could tell that the thought wasn't hers because simply it didn't sound like her. The thought was a sweet, melodious feminine voice. It whispered to her to tap on the power inside of her and use the sword. Tap inside...her slayer powers? How can she use the sword when the vampire is running away?

Her runaway vampire's size is quickly morphing into a fly as it increases the distance from her.

Before she could form another thought, she obeyed the lulling voice. Her arms raised, she slashed the air in-line with the vampire. As the enchanted steel cut the air, she felt the sword awaken, glowing dark green. The swords' tip drew a thin strip of purple energy, like a pen marking paper. Crescent-shape strip of energy brightened and propelled forwards with blazing speed as the sword finished its arc of path. Distance between the vampire and the crescent energy quickly bridged within seconds. The energy went through the fiend's neck and dissipated into thin air, sparing harm to those undeserving of the wielder and owner's wrath.

Joan, wide-eyed with awe, watched as the vampire crumbled into dust; she couldn't believe it. The sword had healed her wound--a fatal one if left untreated for a range of time-- and killed a vampire from feet apart with an energy moon-shaped thingy. Joan held the blade in front of her; its glistening blade showed her eyeing it with wonder. Her lips curved into a grin and she said:

"That was cool!"

* * *

"Yeah Giles, I'm here in Rome," the gorgeous, slender woman voiced in her cell phone. Her eyes were partly veiled by the bangs of her wavy hair. "What do I do now?"

"Good. Now all you have to do is locate the scroll," supplied the Watcher on the other end. "While we don't know where the scroll--"

"Lost and Found missions aren't my thing Giles," interrupted the woman. Her voice was soft but barely leashed. Looking for this and that was something she never liked. Taking the things she want, having them-- that she likes. Looking for things requires time and patience, which is short in supply in her fuse. "I only agreed to do this stupid thing because I thought you KNEW where it is."

"Yes, well, that's true. We don't have the exact location but we do know who stole it. Willow did some 'poking around', as she called it, and found who stole the scroll." The Watcher took sometime to compose himself but not too much. He's very well aware of the impatience the woman at the other end possesses. "Joan Moonstrom. She is an upstart mercenary living there in Rome. Find--"

"Her, Find the scroll. What's the address?" the woman asked. After having been given the address, the raven-haired woman said her thanks and hanged-up. Pocketing the cell phone, the woman set out to find Joan.

* * *

"Finally, " a man began. In between his hands, the Sweet Whisper of Death lay bare. His eyes absorbing all the mystical knowledge it spells. Luck is finally standing by his side. He couldn't believe that the scroll that his hands are holding is still intact. In fact, it was in perfect condition. "Something that would allow us to muster a powerful force to protect us when we attempt to rescue the Princess."

"Yes, finally," spoken by another man. Clearly, he is a subordinate to the man by the way his eyes stare the floor down. "Does this mean that we can finally carry on our plans?" he asked, eyes still scanning the floor.

"Yes. I've already given the sword to someone. Joan Moonstrom," he said matter of fact.

"Her? She cannot be possibly be worthy of the sword! Besides, she is a Slayer!" cried the other man.

"Which makes her the perfect choice," countered the man. "In order for the sword to awaken, a _very_ dark force is required. A Slayer's power, though used for good, is rooted in the dark." He turned around to face the subordinate.

"She is still a Slayer!"

"I wouldn't worry about that particular matter. I saw it in her eyes."

"Saw what?"

"Nothing. Absolute emptiness. I didn't see that familiar burning passion that every dutiful slayer possesses. In fact, I would even bet that she doesn't care about what happens to this world as long as it keeps on spinning." His lips formed a grin as he recalled her eyes. The vacuum of emotion on those hazel eyes was the most fascinating thing he ever saw. He didn't think that a human, even a Slayer, could reach such a state. He always believed that being void of emotion and feelings is the only way to be truly strong mentally. For a moment, he wondered what caused her to be in such a state. "She's perfect for the sword. Besides, she was chosen by the Princess herself."

"The Princess has communicated with you?"

"Yes. It was brief."

"What else did she say?"

His smirk had widened with the question. "She said that now that we can finally proceed to rescue Her," he said as he walked towards the nosey subordinate. The subordinate's stare left the floor to fix on him. His hand came down upon the follower's shoulders, resting--for a moment. Then his hand lit ablaze in a flash and fire started spreading quickly from the follower's shoulders. Hungry blazes consumed his flesh and in a matter of seconds, the subordinate was reduced to charcoal. "We have no need for you."

Really, sorry about the lack of update. Rest assured, I am alive and this story will always be eventually updated. Happy Holidays! Keep the reviews coming! They're great.


	5. Finding Her

-Hello, I hope everybody is sticking with his or her New Year resolutions! I'm sure you may be wondering about the lack of updates. Well, I decided to take a break from writing. But break's over so here is your update. Anyway, I present to you the update of Professions by me, Struggling Hero. Enjoy and reviews are welcomed.

**CHAPTER 5: FINDING JOAN**

"I'm on my way to Ms. Moonshine Giles" the woman said in her cell phone. The Watcher cut her pleasure stay in Rome short. Apparently, his concern over the scroll had grown the past few days. Faith had already settled and enjoying Rome until Giles called. He needed her to abandon the vacation, get the scroll and go back to Cleveland. She should have gotten the scroll errand over with as soon as she landed so she could have enjoyed the rest of her vacation. That's what putting things off get you.

She is strolling under the moonlit road, her mind on full alert. She had sensed that a vampire was stalking her as soon as she turned into this particular road. Under normal circumstances, she would have already engaged the fiend in a brawl but she had other things to do. She just wanted to find this mercenary and find the scroll so she could go home and see what's the big deal about the stupid scroll.

"Moonstrom, Faith" the Watcher corrected her.

"Whatever" said the raven-haired Slayer and hanged up.

Out of the shadows, in front of her, a vampire appeared. The vampire she had sense finally appeared though there was something about this undead. Its eyes were flashing red. She could sense power from the bloodsucker and it unnerved her a little. The vampire walked towards her and halted. It seems that a little stare down is in order before the fight.

"Well, look who decided to come out and play" greeted Faith.

A guttural growl came from the vampire. "You cannot win, lady. I have been infused with power beyond yours or that of any other Slayer."

_Knowledge of Slayers._

This vampire is definitely not a newbie, she thought. He may not be a newbie but that doesn't mean he is going to win. He is going to be blowin' in the wind after I'm done with him, ranted her mind.

The two began to circle each other, sizing each other up in the process. Tired of waiting, Faith charges and unleashed a furious flurry of punches. All punches met their intended mark giving Faith a chance to follow up with a strong kick, taking the vampire down. The raven slayer's eyes widened in surprise as the form of the vampire picked itself up. Faith's barrage did zero to the vampire. Wiping blood off his lips, the vampire gave a manic laugh. Intimidated, Faith lunged once more starting with a right cross but unlike last time, the vampire made an effort to defended himself by parrying the blow with his left. Not letting an offensive opportunity pass by, the vampire launched a right hook catching the slayer on the left cheek. Red started trickling from the Slayer's lips.

"I told you my power reaches beyond yours, Slayer. This is the end of your life's journey" said the vampire.

The vampire began to approach the Slayer. Faith swung with another right to halt his advances but the fiend swiftly dodged. The powerful unholy being attempted to deliver a boot to the stomach. With a Slayer's extreme reflexes, Faith positioned her hands in front of her gut thus catching the blow. Though the blow was blocked, the force of it sent Faith staggering backwards for a few feet. A powerful kick to the chest followed. With her balance in an upset with staggering, Faith was helpless to defend against the blow. Her back ended up grinding against the concrete, tearing her jacket and scratching the exposed skin.

This fight is definitely not going with Faith's expectations. She expected to dust the guy in microseconds but now she's trying to get all the microseconds she can get to recover from the painful beating by the vamp. This vampire is definitely not among the normal everyday vampire. It's clear that this fiend has the superior strength. But that doesn't mean it's going to win. Faith ran her hands on her jacket. After feeling a bump, the girl let out a sigh of relief. She's not completely at the edge; she still has the stake in her jacket. She considered drawing the weapon but quickly decided against it. If she draws the weapon now, the vampire would just wrestle the wood away along with her chances of dusting the fiend. No, she would draw it when that crucial moment presents itself.

Once again the vampire began to approach. Faith waited till he was within distance the quickly flipped herself up, catching the vampire on with her boots in the process. The vampire quickly recovers just in time to catch Faith's right fist. With her right hand clenched by the monsters, Faith unleashed a left...only to be caught with the vampire's other hand. The unholy fiend slammed his head against Faith, making the Slayer go weak in the knees because of the pain. Faith's hands were released from his grip but the vampire was simply switching targets. He lifted Faith into the air and then wrapped Faith's back in a bear hug.

Faith screamed in pain on account of the crushing force her back was under. There was no way she could wrestle her way out of the bear hug. The vampire is too strong. She could punch the vampire's face till he let go but he might just tighten his grip in response. Or she could...

Faith fished out the stake out of her jacket. This was the crucial moment. The fool couldn't see what she was doing because she was in a bear hug position. Her hands were over her head and she was sure that she was looking out her back, not on her hands. Grabbing the stake with both hands, Faith rammed the stake on his back and through his heart. Finding the heart from the back is a little tricky but for a Slayer, it's no problem. The vampires crushing arms disintegrated to dust along with the plunged stake, leaving Faith on the floor.

Faith remained on the floor for a few moments, breathing very heavily. This is definitely something to mention to Giles. Faith stood up but not without pain. She's only a few blocks away from Joan Moonstrom's apartment. Maybe going there is a bad idea. If things between this Joan chick and me gets hot, I would be in big trouble considering how banged up I am, her mind rationalized. No, she would crash somewhere until she regains full mobility without feeling blinding pain. With Slayer healing, it wouldn't take long.

* * *

"Eat this" Joan yelled, as she slashed the air with her "fancy" sword. Like before, the sword's tip drew the thin, purple, crescent-shape energy out of the air. Immediately, the energy made a beeline in quick rate of speed towards the demon. The energy sliced through its thick carcass as if it was nothing. The demon is dead, cut in half by Joan's wicked sword.

Joan had been practicing in using the sword's abilities. She went in search of demons to train herself with the sword. Ever since the vampire fight, where the sword unveiled its nifty tricks to her, Joan had wanted to be able use the blade's magickal abilities at her will. A handful of demons were slain by her sword until she gained a satisfying control over the swords abilities. Of course, she wasn't crazy enough to get injured by a demon on purpose to practice the sword's healing powers. Nope. She just stayed at her apartment and cut her palm and practice healing and soon gained a sufficient amount of control over that particular ability. She's practically invincible during a battle for she could just heal herself if she suffers a fatal wound. This very thought made her feel drunk with power.

The mercenary raised her precious blade and stared at it, enjoying how it gleams with the moonlight. She would have to talk to her client again and hear the history of this wonderful sword sometime. She also wondered if the sword has some other surprises she hasn't tap on. Finished admiring, Joan put the sword backs in its sheath and began walking back towards her apartment. She planned to grab something to eat on the way back to her home.

* * *

Joan said her thank-you to the baker. Cinnamon bread-roll and a cola -not exactly everyone's dinner stuff but she that's what she wanted. The mercenary made her way to her humble adobe. Making a series of turns and going straight a few blocks, Joan noticed something on the ground: a piece of cloth. Judging from the material, it's from a jacket. There's also some faint splatter of blood on the pavement. From the looks of it, a fight just took place here a few hours ago with a vampire. Some vampire dust sprinkled the pavement just a few inches away from the blood and piece of cloth. Obviously the vampire lost. To whom she guessed to a Slayer.

Something is piqued Joan's interest. The fight obviously gave the girl some trouble. How much she didn't know but a Slayer should be able to dispose the undead with relative ease. Staring at the faint blood marks, Joan walked away from it and looked around the neighboring houses. The injured girl might have crashed on one of these houses. She should help her.

A voice began whispering in Joan's mind. It's that same feminine voice again. She wasn't imagining hearing things when she was fighting the vampire after all. Such sweet, melodious voice. The mercenary couldn't help but listen and feel content. The injured girl isn't any of her business. The girl probably was just having a bad day just like she did sometimes in the past. Joan walked the last few blocks and finally reached her own home.

Joan punched in a private combination of numbers into the security keypad. A brief machine beep and she opened the door. Quickly, she made her way to the kitchen and sat down her dinner. She had learned to cook for herself here because take-out foods eventually started tasting the same to her for she eats the stuff three times a day. With the comforts of her home, Joan no longer needed her denim jacket. She slid out of it and began taking out her bread rolls. Joan went to the living room, taking the bread and cola with her. Turning on the TV, she enjoyed her meal.

* * *

It had been a few hours since the Slayer crashed in the empty apartment. He contemplated whether or not he should just go in and kill the wounded Slayer. After a few seconds, he decided against it. It would be foolish thing to do. He might get discovered along with his plans. Still, it was entertaining watching that Slayer fight for her life against the vampire.

The scroll has proven itself. With the scroll, he can infuse a dead being (preferably a vampire) with unreal strength. When the moment arrives, he would use the scroll on numerous vampires. The vampires would protect him while he summons the Princess into this world. Even the army of Slayers in Cleveland will face great difficulty getting through the powered-up vampires to stop him. Of course, he would have to wait till the blonde Slayer is completely under the Princess' will to continue with the plan.

* * *

Oh! The fanfic Emptiness Within (which inspired me to start this one) is finally **updated**. Go check the it out and send the author some nice reviews ok? Awesome story!

That's it for now. Please review and tell me what you think. I'll try to update a bit earlier than usual.

P.S. To those who offered to be my beta, I hope those offers are still good. I'm going to start sending stuff in to you guys. If you don't want to, please say so in my email. Yahoo account, strugglinghero88.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	6. Morning After

AN: As this takes place a few months after Chosen, the events of Angel The Series ends in the episode before "Damage" and diverges from there to the details in this fic. "Damage" and the all the episodes that followed it did not happen in this story.

AN: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming!

CHAPTER 6: THE MORNING AFTER

Sunshine filtered through the open blinds in her room and towards her eyes, irritating her. Joan lazily got up from her bed and walked to the blinds. One of these days, she'll remember to close them before going off to bed. Almost lifeless, she dragged her feet to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes repeatedly. She began scrounging the pantry for breakfast. A simple cereal served as breakfast for today.

She slip out of her sleep wear and into a casual blue jeans and a white blouse with a regular black jacket on top. Leather was like a magnet for unwanted eyes hence the no-leather ensemble. The less people taking interest in her, the less chance of those people she left behind knowing about her. After all, word of mouth travels fast. Having magick done on you to prevent being "traced" and changing your identity can only take you a certain distance. Yes, she knew that they would just have Willow perform a spell to find her. It wasn't much fun waking up at night because of yellow, smelly, tracking mist. They tried the spell several times which ended in her ditching the place where she was before they get there. Finally, once she arrived in Rome, she luckily stumbled upon a warlock that would solve her tracking problems. It took some "persuasion" but eventually, the warlock abided to her wishes.

Dressed casually, she was now ready to face the day. A new client, whom much to her dismay decided to call late at night, in need of her service is waiting for her. Grabbing her favorite sword, she headed out.

"Of all the things there are, you want a book?" Joan looked at him. Fragile was the first thing that came to her mind when she set her eyes on him. He was so frail, thin and bony. She wondered if he acquired some kind of disease. Osteoporosis? Aside from those, he "feels" human. She welcomed this change from the last one. Her last client couldn't be human. Though he look like one, the air around him seemed to be void of anything. The lack of presence sent low waves to her senses. The man before her is nothing special.

"Yes. I don't need artifacts of any kind. The value of knowledge far exceeds those of anything that glimmers."

"Knowledge is power, got it," Joan shrugged.

"I'm pleased that you understand it," he smiled. Joan returned the smile but briefly.

"So what's the name of this book and where is it?"

"It's the Book of Realms and I believe it's in Cleveland. It's in the library of the Center of Council."

Center of Council. The man couldn't have said anything worse to her. The potentials-that-was in Sunnydale resided there. More importantly, some of her friends might be there. Willow, Xander, or worse, Dawn. Words of refusal started forming in her throat but she did not utter them out.

"Are you crazy? There's Slayers in there. A LOT of them. You know what a Slayer is right?"

"Yes, that is true. It's also true that you are one of the best for-hire. With your skills, I know that you can get around it,"

Joan let out a sigh. "Oh goody, you believe in me."

"Will you do it?"

Truth be told, it wasn't getting past the Slayers that posed a problem for her. She was better than the average Slayer. A lot consider her the best. It is being discovered. She had worked so hard to stay away from THEM. It will be all at risk if she decides to accept the job. Maybe she should just refuse him...

Or maybe she should accept for the promise of closure. Numerous times, she dreamed of telling Giles and the others to stick it. She was right and they were wrong. Had she heard any apologies for that? No. Telling them that she's better without them is one of the things she longed for. Hateful emotions is now surging inside of her like furious tides. She so badly wanted to hurt their feelings; make the feel the hurt she had felt.

_...I need you to leave._

_I'm trying to see the point here but maybe it's a little to my left._

Joan closed her eyes, afraid that they may start shedding tears. The clueless client thought that she closed them in pondering.

_This is too much to ask..._

_Then we vote._

Unbeknownst to the client and for-hire, Joan's sword glowed violet briefly but since it was in it's sheath, no one noticed.

Joan had never thought that she was capable of feeling an emotion of this magnitude. Strong hatred stirred into a full-blown storm inside her. She'll show them; let them feel her hatred.

"Well?"

Joan opened her eyes. There were no tears.

"I'll do it."

Joan had spent the rest of the day, wandering around the town. The sights and sceneries of Rome could keep a woman occupied for the whole day. Thankfully she received none too many stares from strangers. Seeing someone carrying a sword is not something you see everyday. She tried her best to cover it with her jacket but the sword is a little too long. It wasn't a bad day at all.

As she closed the door behind her, she heard a sound. It sounded like footwear sliding against the carpet. Perhaps, she spoke too soon about her day. Her eyes wondered to each and every place that she can see. The lack of lights failed to hinder her sight, another perk from being a slayer. Sight in darkness is a must when it comes to hunting vampires. Whoever this person that is in her house, it better be a person or...

"What the hell? B?" a familiar voice from above called out.

No...It couldn't be.

A figure swoop down, landing on her feet. With the absence of lights, the figure looked pitched black. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent Joan from seeing her features. The surprised and shocked emotions painted on the figures face.

There's no way...

Her arm reached out behind her, feeling for a light switch. She turned them on and to her dismay, the features didn't change. They were still that of Faith's. Why is this happening now? She had already decided to meet them. Was it not soon enough for the world?

She steeled herself for the upcoming confrontation. Emotionally and most likely physically. "Hello, Faith."

Faith took a few steps forward. "It is you," she whispered.

"Yeah so?"

"What do you mean 'yeah so'?" Faith asked, suddenly irritated. "You got the hell out of dodge without telling anyone! You did it without telling a soul. What? You think that we wouldn't notice or something?"

"I wished it..."

"What the fuck is wrong with you B? Do you even know what you did? You had Giles and the others worried sick and ESPECIALLY Dawn! The bite-size cried herself to sleep every fucking night because of you! Heck, even I was worried. I guess we worried for nothing since you obviously are having the grand o'le..."

Just a few sentences of rambling, and she's already sick of it.

"You all wanted to see me? That's very funny cause' the last time I was with you guys, you ALL so BADLY WANTED to get rid of me that you kicked me out of my own house. MY OWN HOUSE! And now that I'm gone, you want me to come back? Well guess what? You can all go screw your..."

"Look Buffy, this isn't about you! This is about Dawn..." Faith interrupted her. Apparently, Joan also had the same idea.

"Oh Just this ONCE it's going to be about me. With everything I did and sacrificed for this world, I think it's only right. You all kicked me out of my own house. Why? Because you all were scared out of your mind to go into battle..."

"That isn't it Buffy and you know it."

"Call me Joan," she felt a tingle of satisfaction as she saw Faith's wide eyes. Her hand unconsciously went around the sword's handle. "So why did you kick me out of my house?"

Faith took a deep breath. She'll have to process the Joan thing later. "You weren't thinking straight B. You wanted to take on that priest guy without even thinking."

"Oh and you're the epitome of thinking F," Joan retorted.

"Look, I'm not saying that..."

She couldn't actually believe that she was hearing this. Are they actually this dense or is it just Faith?

"Look you little bitch, how did you beat the First? Isn't it because of the slice-and-dice thing that Caleb was hiding. The weapon that was located in the vineyard to you all were trying to stay away from? Willow couldn't have done her little spell without it."

"Yes but that's not it. Even before that, girls died because..." Faith started once again but only to be interrupted once more.

"OH BOO FUCKING HOO! Last time I checked, when you're in a war people die. That isn't even my fault. Those girls that died before, I couldn't do anything about that ok?"

Joan's grip tightened around the sword. The voices were whispering to her again...

After a moment, her grip around the sword relaxed. She eyed Faith, awaiting more words of wisdom from her. There was none. She wasn't the same Buffy as before. No, she was a girl, a mercenary that has no loyalty of her own. Just loyalty to those who would hire her. Good or evil. She was a girl with little morals. She wasn't the Buffy that stood tall on plateaus of morals and dignity. No, she is Joan. She knew that is exactly what Faith saw as she looked at her.

She eyed Faith warily as the raven slayer snuck her right hand in her pocket. Her grip once again tightened around the sword. Joan knows that Faith knows that she has a sword. She wouldn't pull a stunt that would get her hurt but just in case... Faith fished out what looked like a red bracelet. She casually put it on around her left wrist.

Joan's grip relaxed once more. A split second later, she realized what a mistake that was as Faith charged her onto the nearest wall. The impact left the blonde Slayer shaken. With her free hand, she spun around and lashed out with a backhand. Her fist hit Faith squarely on the face. She attempted to follow-up by using her sword handle as a weapon but Faith knocked the wind out of her with a blow to her stomach, causing her to double over in pain. The former rouge slayer launched a kick to her stomach, intending to double the pain in that region. Joan saw the oncoming kick and caught it with her two hands. Still gripping the other Slayer's foot, she hurled both arms upward as hard as she could sending Faith into the air. Little good it did as Faith somersaulted in the air and landed on her feet firmly.

The fight raged on. The world's best two slayers against each other. They were evenly matched, a fact that Joan loathed deeply. In the past, she was the better slayer. She had always been better than her by some mark. Of course, back then it didn't matter to her. But now that small gap had closed. Joan didn't know if her skills had declined or Faith's had improved.

Opportunity presented itself as Joan ducked a wide swing, leaving her rival open to a shot. Or so she thought. As she was about to retaliate with a right, her hand was met halfway by Faith's. Her palm slapped against the other girl's left. Faith exerted pressure to keep their palms joined.

Bright blobs of lights flared up around them then began swirling around them. First slowly then it speed up to a dizzying speed. Joan was closed her eyes, the bright lights straining her eyes. She felt a gust of whirlwind then it was all gone. She noticed that Faith's hand was no longer against hers. Instead it was against a cold hard floor along with her knees.

Her eyes opened and to her shock, she was no longer in her comfy home. She was in another facility. There were girls in their teens staring at her.

Something told her that they weren't just normal girls but Slayers. She was in a room full of Slayers! That bitch somehow transported her to one of the Council's facilities!

Her eyes widened as she recognized two familiar faces (aside from Faith's). Long red hair standing next to a slightly wavy brunette. Willow and Kennedy. This is turning out to be a nightmare!

Joan got up from all fours and looked up at them. This wasn't how she pictured how they would meet once again. It was supposed to be her stealing the stupid book and telling them off!

Combination of hurt, shock, confusion was sent in waves thorough their stares. She noticed anger coming from the red head and sickening amused feeling from her girlfriend. It was all too much for Joan. She didn't want to face this. She closed her eyes once more.

"This...isn't happening," she took a step back. Tears now bordered around her eyes.

Joan opened her eyes. Willow and the others were no longer staring in confusion at her but at her hand. Her eyes followed their stare and saw her hand gripping the sword. The sword is resonating fierce violet. A few seconds later, it no longer resonated but glowed brightly. Joan somehow knew that the sword is not unveiling another of it's nifty tricks this time but doing something else. Her other hand quickly laid upon her forehead as the whispering voice has returned. It was the same sweet voice but it was more frantic this time. She couldn't understand what it was saying.

"Buffy, what's going on?" asked Willow.

"I do... aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Joan screamed in pain. The sword's fierce violet glow had begun to transfer and settle inside Joan. The blonde slayer felt great pain. The sword was still glowing violet but now, it was a very weak glow. It was a very weak glow compared to her body. Her whole body was now glowing violet. The energy was sifting inside through Joan in a quick pace.

Her painful screams was threatening to make her lung collapse. After a few moments, the energy finished sifting inside through her. All the violet had completely settled inside her. She was no longer glowing and so has the sword.

Joan fell to all fours again. Her mouth was open widely, sucking in as much air as possible. Her chest was heaving heavily.

She heard a footstep towards her.

"B, you all right?"

Her mouth closed. After a few silent seconds, her lips stretch to a cold grin. She made no effort to look at Faith.

"I'm just fine," she said softly.


	7. Fallen Slayer

Thank you to Miracle Angel Summers, Just Me, TutorGurlTigger for reviewing!

Two updates in one month? Wow, that's like a record for me!

PLEASE R&R!

Chapter 7: FALLEN SLAYER

"I'm just fine," Willow heard her soft voice.

Other emotions forgotten, Willow worried for her best friend's safety. They'll talk about the other matter of seeing her again once she is sure she's fine. It was really a disconcerting (at the least) sight to see her friend on all fours, heavily breathing air as if the oxygen in the atmosphere is about to deplete at any given moment. She carefully looked at Buffy, checking for wounds, blood or any indication of harm on her. As far as she could see, there's nothing.

What the heck just happened?

One minute she was glad and angry at seeing Buffy again then the next, violet lights were entering inside Buffy's body! Her screams were so loud and in pain; she had never heard such sound come out from the brave slayer. There's no way she could have been fine.

Willow mentally slapped herself silly for letting her best friend stay on the floor. She step towards her to help her up but a hand grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked behind her and saw Kennedy shaking her head.

"She doesn't feel right," Kennedy said firmly. Her eyes had an intense look in them.

"Of course she isn't right, some violet thingy just hurt her. Being hit with a violet thingy is usual..." Willow trailed off as her gaze landed on Faith's. Her eyes had the same intense look. The redhead's heart jumped when she Faith shook her head at her. Her gaze fell back to her fallen friend, Buffy. Her breathing was more steady now.

"I'm fine Will," she said sweetly. She watched as Buffy stood up on her feet. The redhead's features was calmed by the innocent smile of Buffy. Good she's fine, she thought.

"I just need a drink of water."

Everyone was too stunned by the recent events to make a move. Willow had to told one of the girls to get a bottle of water.

"What the hell was that?" Kennedy asked, fully on-guard.

"What this old thing?" Buffy shrugged. "It's an enchanted sword. It does that sometimes."

'If that thing could make her scream like a banshee in pain, why does she still have it?' the redhead thought. For some reason, she felt like she was being lied to by her friend.

"Here's your water!" one of the girls bellowed, warning Buffy about the oncoming airborne water. The blonde slayer easily snatched it out of the air. Slowly, she twist the cap open and carefully sipped it. Willow watched in patience, waiting for Buffy to finish. After a few more gulps, the blonde slayer finished and she held the bottle at her side.

"I'm good, don't you believe me Wills?" Buffy asked softly with a smile.

Before Willow could reply, Kennedy replied in her place: "No she doesn't! You really think that you could fool our senses? Every Slayer here has their guts spinning because of you. "

Buffy's smile vanished and she let the empty water bottle drop out of her hands down to the floor. Every slayer in the building tensed up as the evil feeling intensified. The feeling cannot be felt by just Slayers anymore for Willow felt as if an icy hand is gripping her chest and spine. Willow couldn't believe this was emanating from her best friend. It frightened her. In instinct, she took a step back from her.

An soft evil chuckle sounded off her. "I guess that's a no."

Before anyone in the room could react, Buffy had already closed the gap between her and Willow and plowed her fist onto her stomach. Willow doubled over, it felt like someone hit her stomach with a sledgehammer. Her body, in response to the intense pain, was shutting down. Her vision was getting darker but Willow tried to hold on to consciousness as long as she could. Through dimmed vision, she could see an occasional flash of light bursting. The screams of pain from the other Slayer's told her it was caused by Buffy. Her vision was getting darker.

She has to put a stop to this before further damage could be done. She closed her eyes and the witch glowed white. The roots of her hair were turning white too. The glow died out and Willow opened her eyes. The pounding pain in her gut was gone, washed away with magic. Her sight set upon Buffy. The golden, or more appropriate fallen, slayer was suffering from the onslaught of punches and kicks of her slayer sisters. On a grim note, the oldest living slayer seems little fazed by the blows. Each time she received, she would dish it back two fold to a slayer and it more than faze.

Her eyes widened in horror as Buffy sliced the air and a crescent-shape energy appeared out of the displaced air and rocketed towards a slayer and went through the stomach. The clueless slayer was puzzled and only when blood started gushing out of her tummy that she figured what happened. Shortly, she fell to the floor dead. Seeing their comrade fall only enraged the Slayers. They charged but the blonde slayer swung her sword mightily around her and an invisible force kept the Slayers at bay.

"A new trick." She smiled in triumph. "But I like this one better!"

Quickly, she performed the same trick that killed the girl. Everyone was helpless to stop it. Another girl had been slain.

The red-headed witch has had enough. Anger causing through her, she willed the slayers charging towards Buffy to be taken back. Her red auburn hair is now completely white. Her eyes were white too and they were intensely fix on Buffy, quite puzzled as why is everyone staying put on their spot. Buffy turned to Willow and white eyes met hazel ones; best friends staring daggers to one another.

"So... Won't-a-Witch is gone and white-haired Sabrina is back? Gotta say, you look good white Wills." Buffy asked with venom.

"You've gone far enough Buff."

"You're all going to die and all of you deserve it!" Buffy exclaimed.

Willow knew exactly what she was referring to. "Buffy you were falling apart. That's why we kicked you out,"

"Yeah, I was. I guess the only way you idiots know how to help is by throwing me out. Well congratulations, it worked. I put myself back together. But don't expect me to be your same Buffy again!" Buffy ran towards Willow with great agility.

Willow swung her arm in front of her and Buffy was hit with an invisible force, sending her tumbling backwards on the floor. "Your not the only one who can do that magic."

"Bet you can't do this!"

Willow knew what was coming as Buffy slashed upwards with her sword. The hostile energy came towards her at a great speed. In a split second, Willow raised a protection spell. The energy splashed out as it hit the magical shield but the energy wasn't the only thing coming at her. Buffy was once again charging at her with greater speed than before. Unfortunately, Willow's shield only negates magickal attacks not physical ones.

The white witch let out a scream as Buffy punched her squarely on the chest. Immediately, the Slayers tried to move to assist but they couldn't move. Willow still hadn't release them from the spell.

"Red, make this mojo go away!" Faith yelled.

Willow, whether she wanted to abide by Faith's wishes or not, couldn't refuse nor obey as Buffy had lifted her up on a one-hand chokehold. Her feet was thrashing madly while her hands tried to pry off the Slayer's own hand that is choking the life out of her. She tried to utter a spell but Buffy seemed to have sense it coming and tightened her grip. The pain was too much of a bother to allow her to fire a spell.

"Sorry F, Willow is a little busy right now," Buffy chuckled. With pure brute strength, she threw Willow against the wall. Willow slammed against the concrete wall so hard that it cracked. Willow struggled to get up. She saw Buffy walking towards her and knew that a world of hurt would greet her if she gets her hands on her again. She shot her right hand forward.

"_Dislovo!"_ She fired off a ball of light towards the advancing Buffy. The golden slayer flew back from the impact and landed roughly on her back. Though there were no cuts or bruises, the blood that seeped out of her lips showed that she was indeed hurt. Willow knew that it wasn't enough to stop her. She didn't have the heart to kill Buffy but that doesn't mean that she was going let her roam around and slay people.

Slay people. She never thought there would be a time that those two words would apply to the blonde before her. Buffy was the purest person she had ever known. The girl who had always does what's right no matter what. She struggled but in the end she always did the right thing. The slayer couldn't even bring herself to kill Glory's host, Ben. She was a hero like Giles said. But now...

"Nice shot Wills." Buffy stood up with a little bit of assistance from her sword. She brought her hand to her lips to wipe the blood away. "Your magick was always a pain whether you're using it for me or against me."

Unfazed by the insult, Willow started whispering a binding spell. Before Buffy figured out what she was doing, she was already bound. White ring of energies constrict her to a motionless state.

"I'm sorry Buffy," she whispered to her.

_You will be..._

Telepathy, Willow wondered where Buffy learned such feat. She guessed it must have something to do with the energy show earlier. She eyed the sword that Buffy still held despite the binding spell.

Willow closed her eyes and everyone in the room could move again. All the slayers stared in awe at the bound Buffy. They were whispering to each other as if speaking loud would break the binding. Even without the spell's effect, almost everyone remained in their place. They were scared to approach Buffy.

Willow's appearance returned to their normal state. She stared at Buffy who was staring back with hatred in her eyes. It unnerved her; her best friend hating her.

"Your a real Goddess, Willow." Kennedy hugged her. She wrapped her arms around Willow's neck and kissed her. Willow smiled and eagerly kissed her back.

"What are we going to do with her Red?"

"What do you mean what? We have to kill her!" Kennedy said with anger. The slayers murmured in agreement. Kennedy had always been popular among the crowd. She was considered the voice for all the young slayers.

"NO!" Faith and Willow cried out at the same time.

The murmurs died and everyone stared at the two.

Kennedy looked at them as if she didn't know who they were. "What do you mean no? She killed two slayers. She has to die!"

Willow's eyes narrowed. "So are you saying, that I should die because I killed Warren? We don't deserve a second chance?" Willow asked in an even tone.

"No. This is different,"

"How is this different than Red killing the nerd and me killing Wilkins' dogboy?" Faith asked her.

Kennedy tried to think of a reason but nothing came. Bitterly, she asked: "Then what the hell are you going to with her?"

"We have to get Giles here. He'll know what to do."

_To Be Contined... _

Please R&R! Please! Please!


	8. DKOCO

Special Thanks to Miracle Angel Summers, Dilvish, TutorGirlTigger for reviewing!

First chapter contains disclaimer. Janine, Valerie (whom some of you might remember, I used her on "Resurface"; she was the sword-dancing girl. She's different here but there are similarities. Withering Light and Resurface are no longer archive. Those two fics were getting out of hand but I might think about reposting and rewriting it provided there's some interest. I got some good comments which is why I'm considering it.) are original characters. There other OC too. Please ask permission if you want to use the character.

CHAPTER 8: DIFFERENT KIND OF CHOSEN

"How long has she been in this state?" Giles stared at Buffy, who was bound by Willow's spell. He stared at her bravely, his face was that of stoic expression. Whatever he was feeling, he wasn't going to convey anytime soon.

"A few hours," Willow answered. She too looked at Buffy. The slayer had stopped struggling and her eyes were closed. She knows what's it like to be bound by magicks; after all, this was the same binding spell Giles had used on her only stronger. Even with all her struggles, she couldn't break free by her own. She had to brainwash Anya to do it for her. Her vision wandered on the floor; this memories wasn't a pleasant one to remember but these unfolding of events are triggering it. Her eyes once more set on Buffy. She could feel dark magicks emanating off her and it made her uncomfortable. Has she been too shocked at seeing Buffy that she hadn't notice it? No that couldn't be it. It was that explosion of violet magic. She didn't felt it at first but the Slayers did. When it strengthened, she too felt it. She looked up at him. "So, how are you doing?"

There was no answer from the Watcher.

"Giles?"

"Huh?" He shook his head. "I'm not sure really. I always hoped to see Buffy again but not in this state. It's...difficult to assess what I'm feeling right now."

The witch nodded her head. "I understand." Her attention went back to the motionless-Buffy.

"You believe the sword cause this change in Buffy?"

"It's the only thing that could have done it," Willow began, her eyes now on the enchanted blade. "It glowed a violet and then the energy like exploded and seeped through Buffy. It was scary." The witch shuddered as she recalled it. "Buffy was glowing violet and screaming in pain. It lasted for like a minute or so before it stopped. The sword wasn't glowing anymore and Buffy too. Then she went on a killing spree."

"That does sound definitive," The watcher agreed. "I think I'm familiar with this."

"You've seen the sword before?" Faith spoke up.

"No. But I believe I've read something about this sword." The watcher began heading to the library.

Faith and Willow looked at each other for a moment before following the Watcher. At the last moment, Faith turned around to the Slayers.

"No one goes near B got it? Those who do will be cleaning toilets for a month!" Faith whirled around to catch up with Willow.

A murmur of 'yes' elicited from the crowd. Their eyes were still fixed on Buffy

**OOOBTVSOOO**

"Oh dear lord!" Giles muttered as his eyes skimmed the textbook he was holding.

"Oh great," Willow and Faith simultaneously groaned out causing the Watcher to look up and glare at them.

"Bad news Giles?" Willow asked innocently.

"I'm afraid it's worse."

"How so?" Faith asked.

Giles cleared his throat, signaling a possible long explanation. "As you all suspected, Buffy is under the hold of the enchanted sword she's holding."

"So all we have to do is break the hold and we get good Buffy back right?" Willow asked.

"Yes but I'm afraid it's easier said than done." He looked down on the book once again. His finger tracing the information as he uttered his findings. "You see, the sword Buffy possesses originally belongs to the forgotten Princess of the Syrith dimension."

"So what if it belongs to some no-name royal chick? That doesn't make it..." Faith never finished the rest as Giles interrupted her with the clearing of his throat.

"If you would let me finish Faith." Faith nodded to him. "The forgotten Princess was the lord of the Syrith dimension, hence her title. The details gets a little irrelevant here...oh here we go, after ruling her dimension for unrecorded number of years she set her sights on our dimension. It didn't go according to her plans, an ancient order, the Order of Kaerlyn, sensed her arrival and ambush her along with her army. The skirmish left the forgotten Princess' army obliterated but so does most of the Order of Kaerlyn. Only the Princess remained but she still posed a threat. The remaining Order of Kaerlyn wasn't strong enough to destroy her but they managed to cast her away from this dimension."

"Cast someone into another dimension? Wow! Those guys must pack some firepower!" Willow exclaimed. Magickal stories always made her giddy, even if for a moment.

"Yes, they do. The power of each member of Kaerlyn is harmonious to their fellow member. Their power acts like synergies to power-up their brethren. This made them strong enough to battle the Princess' army but when they were decimated, the Order weakened considerably leaving them incapable of destroying the Princess. However, they had enough power to cast her away and trapped her in an alternate realm."

"Still can't see what does this have to do with the sword Giles," said Faith.

"Before the Princess was cast away, she created the sword. She infused it with a part of herself giving the sword its mystical properties. Before her last day in this dimension, she teleported the sword to a surviving member of her army. The sword's primary purpose was to make a tear in the dimensional walls to release her from her holding dimension but no one was able to unlock the sword's power. According to this, through the sword the Princess can choose who is the rightful wielder of the sword: a champion who was torn between the darkness and light."

"Buffy," Willow whispered.

"The wielder's will be bound to the Princess' and shall be the Princess' Chosen Knight and carry out her wishes," Giles closed the book and let out a heavy sigh.

"B gets another Chosen One banner, only it's the evil kind. So... how do we get B back?" Faith asked.

Giles, in a familiar habit to those who know him, took off his glasses to clean them. "The only way to do that is to severe the connection between Buffy and this forgotten Princess which could only be done by destroying the sword which is protected by wards. I doubt Buffy would just let us borrow the sword and 'disable' the wards."

"Giles, were you zoning out back there or something?" Faith made a gesture with her head, indicating the place where Buffy is. "We got B all tied up, all we have to do is take the sword from her."

"Yes, yes, we do but I can't shake off this feeling...this isn't as easy as we think..." Giles' rambling was interrupted by a slayer who barge in with a frightened look on her face.

"Sir Giles, something is happening to that wicked girl," she cried out. She made frantic gestures with her hands, begging them to follow her.

The three followed the Slayer who took off running. Willow's mind was forming an army of thoughts while she ran. The strengthening presence of dark magicks made her more worried. They reached the training room and horror greeted them.

Buffy was still bound except there was electricity and energies surrounding her. Magick was blasting off her occasionally like solar flares. It's like a mystical whirlwind made up of energies are surrounding her. The Slayer's eyes were pure black and she was shouting loudly.

Willow visibly gulped in nervousness. She was trembling for she knew what is about to come if this continued. The bindings that were holding Buffy were weakening in strength. She hastily started whispering words to strengthen the spell but to no avail. The energies that were dancing wildly around the Slayer is growing more chaotic by the second. She turned to Giles with a panic expression.

"Giles, if this keeps up she'll break free!" Willow exclaimed.

"We'll get hurt if we go near her. Have you tried strengthening it?"

"Yes. No luck in that department Giles."

"I'm afraid there's nothing that we could do but hope the spell holds out." Giles looked at the chaos swirling before him with a trembling expression. He undervalued the level of power the sword has infused in Buffy. The text he had read mentioned it so casually like the weather. _The Knight of the Princess will be infused with powers._ Giles dared not think how powerful this forgotten Princess is if she could bestow such power.

"The spell is breaking up..." Willow pointed out. The binding spell was now moving like a frail, flimsy rubber band. The catastrophic energies ebbed out. Everyone tense up as the binding spell faded into nothing, landing the slayer back on her feet. The black eyes faded, normal hazel once more visible.

Even without the black eyes, the strength of the dark powers she was sensing frightened her. It was MUCH stronger than before. The redhead assumed that Buffy was as strong as she was during her evil stint if not stronger.

Everyone stood in their place; they were hesitant but ready for action.

"Nice spell Willow. For a second there, I thought that was it for me." Buffy said with a smirk.

"Thanks," Willow said. Her eyes narrowed as Buffy started changing before everyone. Whether the Slayer is aware of it or not, the golden sun roots of her hair darkened into violet. The violet slowly spilled through her whole locks. 'She's got a violet theme thing going on here,' she thought with amusement. Willow wasn't surprised with the change though she thought her hair would turn black instead.

"Nice hairdo bitch," Kennedy commented snidely. All this standing around was driving her berserk. She had an overwhelming need to pummel the now violet brunette. The headstrong Slayer never liked Buffy. In her view, she was a pathetic excuse of a Slayer ever since she met her in Sunnydale. All lame, supposed-inspiring speeches; cold demeanor, self-absorbed and holier-than thou attitude. She wondered why her friends (especially Willow) had stuck by her.

Buffy turned her attention to Kennedy. "You still haven't change since the last time I saw you. Still the same annoying prima-dona... glad to know that some things stay the same."

Willow knew that comment was enough to bring Kennedy over the edge. It didn't take much to enraged her girlfriend. Usually, she feared for the target of the rage but this time, she feared for Kennedy's life. Willow noticed Kennedy tensed up -ready to fight. "Kennedy, don't!"

Her plea fell to deaf ears as her girlfriend dashed towards Buffy. Her sights set on Buffy, who raised her arms and in an instant, a blast of dark magick sent Kennedy hurling in the air and slamming down on the floor roughly. Kennedy gritted her teeth in pain, she tried to get up but the pain was too much and she lost consciousness. Buffy chuckled casually as if Kennedy fell down on her own. Willow, tapped on her magicks. Her hair quickly turned to white and her eyes followed suit. She raised one arm in the same manner.

"_Dislovo!"_

The ball of light zoomed towards Buffy at blazing speed. Surprised crossed the super witch's feature as Buffy erected a wall of energy in front of her. Willow's spell splattered like a water balloon against the energy wall.

"This magick thing is pretty amazing," Buffy examined the magick wall before her. "I haven't read one single spell book yet here I am with the magick wall things. It's like I've known how to do magick all along but I just forgot. And now I'm remembering. This feels awesome! I can see why you can get addicted." The wall faded in front of her. Without a warning, Buffy shot her palm out towards Willow and a violent, invisible force smacked the witch, roughly slamming her against the wall with quick speed. Willow fell down on the floor, her consciousness wandered off.

**OOBTVSOO**

"That was..." Buffy never finished as Faith's fist buried into her face. Quickly, a blizzard of punches shot her body never letting her recover. A roundhouse kick to the stomach followed knocking Buffy down.

The other slayers were on full-action mode now. Three stalked towards the fallen slayer, waiting for her to get up. In a surprising move, Buffy swept her feet around her knocking down them down. Quickly, she got up but just as quickly, she found herself subdued by a Slayer. Her sword was wrench away by one Slayer who had gotten up. Buffy felt like a punching bag; the girls were raining in blow after blow to her while she could do nothing as she was subdued.

"Janine, may I please see that sword?" Buffy heard the familiar voice. She turned and saw the watcher; she didn't notice him at all at first.

"What do you know, it's Jeeves." Buffy smiled at Giles' stoic expression. She knew it was just a mask; fear lay underneath it. Fear of her.

She flinched as she received a blow to the stomach. She had to get out of this so she could get her sword back; she knew overpowering the girl wasn't an option as another Slayer will just assist in subduing her so she went another way. Her feet pushed off the floor and up into the air and landed at the rear of the Slayer that was holding her. She wrenched her arms free and wasted no time wrapping her arms around the poor girl's neck and twisted it. Before the girl even fell to the floor, Buffy was already on the move towards Giles, who now holds her sword. Faith blocked her way and delivered a heavy punch to stop her but she merely ducked through it and continued towards Giles. She could feel Faith on running after her.

The watcher saw her advance, and readied himself but he still was just a Watcher. He could only hope to defend himself. Buffy greeted him with a kick to the stomach and a leaping swing kick to the cheek combo, effectively knocking him out. The Slayer quickly picked up the sword and turned just in time to see Faith delivered a wide right. Again, she ducked but this time she seized her turn and buried the sword's point to Faith's stomach. Buffy looked at Faith's shaking eyes.

"Not the same steel but feels familiar doesn't it?" Buffy chided before violently pulling her sword and delivered a backhand to the former rouge slayer. Faith was down for the count.

The two slayers who enjoyed punching-bag Buffy rushed over to Faith. They looked up at her and Buffy was taken aback by the hatred burning in their eyes.

"Hmmph. I never thought I would see a day where someone actually cares that you're hurt, F," Buffy looked at the bleeding, unconscious Faith.

"She's a lot better of a Slayer than you are!" The voice came from her side. Buffy saw the girl that fetched the sword to Giles, Janine, enraged and after her. Buffy easily dodge the opening blow and countered with a kick to the knee triggering a reflex that made Janine lower herself to touch the hurting knee. Buffy abused the current height advantage with a devastating kick to the face.

"I don't know who trained you but you guys suck!" Buffy laughed. Only two slayers were left. She turned her attention towards them.

"So you guys up for a little fight?" she asked though she wasn't offering a choice.

One of the girl answered her. "We're more than up. Let's go Valerie!" The two tackled her at the same time, bringing her down. She quickly flipped herself up on her feet and the fight began.

Buffy was amazed but more surprised. Valerie and whoever the other one worked together perfectly. Every time she had her chance for the offense, the other girl would defend whoever she was going for and the defended girl would attack. The two must be best friends to develop such unity. They made sure that she never got the chance to use her sword. Buffy only got a handful of hits in but they were still devastating. Buffy finally got the upper hand as she forced them to make a mistake of hitting each other. Then she quickly delivered a knockout blow to Valerie and then an incapacitating combo to the other girl.

"Buffy," a voice called out softly. Buffy was sure that was all of them so who was calling her now? Buffy turned around and saw Willow. The once more redhead had her right arm over her chest. She stretch her left hand and a blue burning orb of fire shot out of her palm.

Buffy merely slapped the flame away. "I know you've love to go another round Will but I have to go. I have a damsel-in-distress to free." Dark Violet energies circled Buffy from head to toe like a tornado. The energies disappeared along with Buffy.

**OOBTVSOO**

"Is violet the new color of evil today?" Willow muttered bitterly.

A groan sounded out in the room and Willow saw the watcher attempting to get up. Willow rushed over to help Giles. "Giles, you okay?"

"My face in in great deal of pain but I'll manage," the Watcher groaned out. His eyes fell upon the bleeding Faith. "Oh dear, we have to get her to the infirmary!"

Willow nodded alertly. She moved towards Faith. How is she going to move her? She wasn't strong enough and Giles is hurt. Fortunately, the two slayers regained their consciousness. Kennedy woke up upon Giles' shaking. She ordered them to take Faith to the infirmary.

"Valerie! Jennalyn! After you get Faith to the infirmary, we need you back here!" Willow called out.

"Yes ma'am," the two replied in unison.

The three were alone now. Willow, Kennedy, Giles looked down upon the Slayer who died with a twisted neck.

"She got Claudine. I knew we should have killed her!" Kennedy pointed out glumly and then stormed off to see Faith.

"Perhaps she's right..." Giles whispered.

Willow couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Giles! You can't even think about that! Buffy's not herself. When I went evil and veiny, I tried to end the world! You guys didn't kill me, you guys or more specifically Xander reached out to me. You all tried! Why can't we do the same for Buffy."

"It might not worth all the lives she took and might take in the future just to get her back."

"You guys weren't sure that I would come back from the evilness but you guys didn't give up on me. We can't just give up on her Giles!"

"Yes, we owe Buffy that. She must have went to a surviving member of the Princess army. We have to get her back before she frees the Princess. If the Princess manages to cross over to this dimension, we'll end up wishing for an apocalypse to escape the pain she'll bring to this dimension." Giles spoke gravely.

To be continued...(I'd say three, four or maybe even five more chapters before the end. I might end up writing more because something unexpected might come up during the process.) Till then please R&R!


	9. Deep Thoughts

Wow, got a fair share of review last update. A wholehearted thank you to: **Miracle Angel Summers, Tutorgurltigger, Mony19, butterfly-grl4, Serrafina, Tsunamigal, Spk  
**

AN: Disclaimer in first chapter. Buffy is called Joan here.

If somehow this is poorly written compared to the other chapters, I apologize in advance. I've stopped writing for a few weeks.

**CHAPTER 9: DEEP THOUGHTS**

She was back in the same old office. Her eyes searched around but there was no sign of the human-looking thing; she could sense him but can't see him.

"I know you're here," she called out firmly.

Before her sight, a crackle of dark light burst and then there he stood. His eyes roamed her whole body up and down; he smiled, clearly liking what he saw. "It's nice to see you again Miss Moonstrom. I see that the sword 'agreed' with you. You look beautiful."

Joan held up the sword in front of her, her eyes staring at her own reflection on the sword's blade. She lowered the sword back down. "I would have preferred to have black hair but I guess Princess has a thing for violet."

Her words brought out of chuckle in him. "That's true. She has a fondness for it. After all, in the old days, it is the color of royalty."

"I'm not really big on history."

"Yes, it appears most people dislike history these days," he sighed.

"Enough with pleasantries, let's talk shop," she requested.

"Of course. Did She tell you the sword's real purpose?"

"To get her out of prison?" she asked with a tiny voice.

"Good but we're not completely ready yet," he said.

"What do you mean?"

**OOOBTVSOOO**

In the library, Giles and Willow had their heads buried in a book. The two had the remaining Slayers alive here on standby and a great of the other divisions in case they needed an army for battle. They were not only facing Buffy but also the remaining army of the Princess, however many of them survived. Rupert Giles was confident that their army of Slayers would prevail. However, making sure that Buffy survives the battle is another issue. They might not have a choice but take the prime Slayer's life if their plan falls redeem her fall to pieces.

Willow closed a book and let out a heavy sigh. Obviously, the textbook proved to be unhelpful. She ran a hand through her rich red hair, thinking about Buffy. An important thought sparked in her brain. "Does Dawn or Xander know what's up with Buffy?"

"No, they have no idea. I figured it would be best if we resolve this conflict before we do," Giles said without looking up from his book.

"Good call. We don't need them going here just to be in danger. I don't think Xander's yellow-crayon speech works on Buffy. So what now?" Willow asked.

Giles laid the book he was searching through down on the table. "We must stop Buffy from releasing this Princess."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but how? We don't even know where they're going to do it."

"It's going to take place somewhere in Rome," Giles began. "The book doesn't give any specific place but they would have to do it where the dimensional barrier is weak. We'll ask for the assistance of the Coven in England in 'sensing' such location."

"Oh cool! Can I help them?" Willow asked excitedly.

"I suppose but we still don't know when they're going to perform the ritual," Giles pondered.

"They'll do it ASAP as in the next few hours so we need to act now," Willow suggested.

"Yes we do need to act now," Giles agreed. "Though I doubt they'll do the ritual right this moment. They would need immense preparation as Buffy and whoever she does the ritual with will be helpless and vulnerable. I'm certain that they know we're coming after them so they would have to set up some kind of protection. Something that will hold a throng of Slayers back. There couldn't have been more than five soldiers that survived the Princess' army as they were hunted by the remaining Order of Kaerlyn in their lifetime," the Watcher stated.

"So whomever would have to turn to vamps and demons," Willow finished Giles' thought. "Ha! That's a piece of cake Giles! The Slayers are experience enough and certainly good enough to plow through some chock full of baddies." The witch's voice rose slightly with a hint of giddiness in them. This was their first time facing an impending major supernatural disaster after Willow's Slayer spell.

"Yes, on paper it should be," Giles agreed. Willow's eyebrow scrunched up in question. "However, they know that we're coming and they'll be prepared for us too."

"We could be walking into a trap..." Willow supplied.

"Yes. Have you worked out the details of the spell?" Giles referred to the spell that would save Buffy.

"Yeah, it's all set. I need the Scythe though. I'll use it like a 'receptacle' for my spell and then fire it on Buffy's sword. If everything goes all right, the Scythe's essence, part of it, should go with the blast..." Willow informed him.

"I see; with the Scythe's essence, it would make the spell much more effective. Effective enough to go take the wards on her sword for granted and destroy the sword. That's very brilliant Willow!" Giles smiled.

Willow returned the smile and said her thanks. After another few rounds of small talk, the redhead prompted leave from the Watcher to check on Faith.

Faith. A name she thought would never come to like. As the redhead walked on, she pondered about her. She and Faith are actually getting along and they are -dare she say- friends. The wild Slayer wouldn't be participating in the upcoming battle. The stomach wound is simply too severe. Buffy really did her in. 'Well at least she's not in a coma,' she thought.

Buffy. That name made the Earth keep on spinning. It made the world safe. Hopefully, once again it will.

The redhead looked at her hands.

For now, Buffy is making the world quiver in fear. It's such an ironic turn of events. The savior is now a pawn of evil.

Willow studied her hands more deeply. She knew that if she looked hard enough, her eyes would start to see Buffy's fate sitting at her palms. Albeit she doesn't know what it looks like, it doesn't make that perception wrong. If she fails to do the spell, Buffy would most surely have to die. Have to die because of some stupid, royal possessing sword.

It was so painful when she first died. She never witnessed her death by the hands of the Master so she doesn't count it. Now, she wondered how much pain she would feel should Buffy die again. Little, because they had to kill her because she was evil? Massive, because the blonde could have live if the spell had work?

These deep thoughts hardened Willow's resolve. She won't fail her best friend; she will save her. Give her a second chance that she deserve. The girl more than deserved it. Fate had been so cruel to Buffy. Her mother, chosen destiny and the things that a normal girl enjoys that she never got to enjoy. Fate won't be delivering the final blow to Buffy by their hands.

Willow Rosenberg refuses to let it happen. Death won't be getting it's grimy hands on Buffy, she'll make sure of it.

The redhead finally arrived at the infirmary. After talking to a few personnel, Willow went into a room. She stared at the fragile, resting body of Faith's; just watching her chest rise and fall and the occasional beeping of the machinery. The sight of the wreck that is Faith sent ripples of doubt to her resolve.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

I know not much action but this is sort of like a calm before a storm chapter.

The battle and what happens to Buffy will be decided on the next update. Hope you like.

Please R&R!


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